BUSINESSChanges in tax laws could affect 2004 filingPersonal Finance. By Katherine Vogt, AMNews staff. Nov. 8, 2004. The decaying leaves, brisk temperatures and shorter days means that a dreaded time of year is just around the corner: tax season. But this upcoming tax season could prove to be milder than others, thanks to key changes in the law that could be a boon to some physicians. Rules governing deductions for office equipment, structural improvements to rented office space and some business vehicles have been tweaked, among others. Advisers say taxpayers should consider those changes now -- before the tax year is over -- because they might affect financial decisions. Some of the relief comes courtesy of the American Jobs Creation Act. The bill closed some tax loopholes but also offered many tax breaks. In a news release, the American Medical Association expressed its particular support for provisions like the buyout -- done at no expense to taxpayers -- of tobacco farmers to diversify into other crops, although it was disappointed that the bill didn't include FDA regluation of tobacco. The AMA also expressed its support for a provision that physicians who serve underrepresented communities through the National Health Service Corps would receive tax relief on government payments toward medical student loans. And in the same release, it praised the bill for adding sickle cell treatment to the Medicaid program. President Bush signed the American Jobs Creation Act into law Oct. 22. The bill also had provisions affecting physicians in their roles as small business owners. One was the extension of the so-called Section 179 rule, an expense deduction for equipment and computer purchases that was first signed into law in 2003. The deduction was set to expire at the end of 2005 but will be extended to the end of 2007, said Martha Bethea, a certified public accountant and director of CBIZ Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services of Northeast Ohio. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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